Sunday, August 31, 2008

Here is my August layout for Scrap Your Day. The title for this month was The Pieces That Make Up The Whole. Basically we had to take a photo of something in it's entirety and then take several photos zooming in on different aspects of the item.

The R prompt came out on Friday so thought I had better get on and do the Q layout. The only thing I could think of was Q for Quirky. Zoe was wandering around in her Night Garden wellies, no trousers and Little Miss Sunshine t-shirt. That was when the Quirky came to me.

I have used American Crafts paper. The scalloped edge I cut myself from a sheet of Bazzill, doodled on it a bit and then put coloured buttons in each scallop. The letters are Sticky Puffa Alphas in pink from Making Memories. Then I used some acidy coloured blooms with gems in the middles.

"Peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. Peace means to be in the midst of all those things and still be calm in your heart.” - Author Unknown

We have had a busy and noisy day today. We have been to Monkey Bizzness with Zoë and she had great fun, but it meant she didn’t get an afternoon nap. It is very noisy there with lots of children racing around screaming at the top of their voices. It was a relief to get out and go and do the weekly shop. In Tesco I found a bubble machine for just £5.50.When we got home we set it up in the garden and Zoë had fun chasing the bubbles around. She was covered in bubble mixture. So she had to come in for an early bath. Since then she has just cried and winged continuously because she is totally overtired. She has thrown some of the most fiercest tantrums ever. So absolutely no peace here and I am not feeling at all calm.Tea and an early bed I think!

Saturday, August 30, 2008

"The best thing about the future is that it only comes one day at a time."- Abraham Lincoln

Since having Zoë I am always wondering what the future will bring. I am hoping for a happy, successful and healthy future especially for Zoë.She seems to be growing up so fast. Potty training is cracked, her speech is really coming along and you can have proper conversations with her now. She can count and recognise lots of letters and I know it won’t be long before she will be off to school to start a new phase in her life.It doesn’t seem that along ago that I bought her home as a new born baby wrapped in a blanket unsure on how to feed, how to bath, how to bring her up in the right way. Now she is developing into a little person who knows what she wants and when she wants it – which is normally NOW!!!!

Friday, August 29, 2008

“Dreams come in a size too big so that we may grow into them.” —Josie Bisset (b. 1970); Television actress

Most of my dreams have come true. I have married the man of my dreams and we have a wonderful daughter!My friend is getting married next Saturday and I have just finished the Table Plan for her. I hope the day is what has always dreamt of and as Matron of Honour I will ensure that it shall be!

The colours are all the same but the photographs have not come out very well.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

"Within sorrow is grace. When we come close to those things that break us down, we touch those things that also break us open. And in that breaking open, we uncover our true nature.” - Wayne Muller; author, therapist, minister

I am lucky to not have had to experience such things that would ever break me down, but I know I would have brilliant friends and family around to help and support me if ever this changed. I would do the same for any of my friends or family too.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

“Gracefulness has been defined to be the outward expression of the inward harmony of the soul.” - William Hazlitt (1778-1830); writer, essayist, literary critic

Oh I am not very graceful at all and never have been. If ever I have tried aerobic classes or to follow someone else’s instructions for dancing, I am all over the place.I think I am quite uncoordinated, which probably stems from being hopeless with my left and rights. On my driving test, every time the instructor said turn right, I had to inconspicuously lift my right fingers (I knew this to be my right hand as this is the hand that I write with and my Mum says I am right handed!!!).If ever I am in a group dancing, I am always going in a different direction to everyone else. I don’t think I agree that this reflects the harmony in my soul as I am quite a calm person and don’t get very stressed in busy or difficult environments.

Monday, August 25, 2008

“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” —Anais Nin (1903-1977), author, diarist

I am too tired today to try and figure out what this prompt really means. As it is the 25th today, I have been taking lots of photos for the Scrap Your Day project and whilst reviewing them, I realised that my picture of a fuchsia summed up this prompt. A fuchsia is like a bud of flower and also open like a blossom.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

"If one dream should fall and break into a thousand pieces, never be afraid to pick one of those pieces up and begin again.” —Flavia Weedn; author, artist

We went camping yesterday to the New Forest. It started off pretty catastrophic as the campsite we went to was fully booked and then when phoning around, we were told that all the campsites were full. The local tourism office luckily found us a site that could accommodate us. We pitched our tents and we had a great Saturday. The new tent was brilliant and the porch on it made all the difference as it meant you could store everything in there, rather than in the sleeping part of the tent. All the kids had a wonderful time and made lots of new friends and we had a lovely barbeque in the evening. It started to rain a little bit in the evening but it soon stopped. There seemed to be a big party going on in the building behind the campsite and it sounded like they had a live band playing so it was very noisy. I was really struggling to sleep with all the noise but did eventually drop off, only to be woken at 2am with some drunken yobs arguing. This went on and on for about an hour and then it started to rain – and I mean absolutely chuck it down. I did drop off again at about 4am and then Zoë woke up at 5.45am. Desperate for the toilet I made a trek across the campsite at 6am in the pouring rain. By 7am we had decided to pack up our tents and come home as the rain didn’t look like it was going to stop and we were all wet and miserable. We had left by 9am. As we hit Ringwood the sun came out and it has lasted all day.Saying all that I had a brilliant time and cannot wait to do it again.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Make visible what, without you, might perhaps have never been seen. - Robert Bresson

Last night I went out for Tina’s hen party and we all had such a laugh. Tina is my oldest friend and we grew up living next door to one another and she is Zoë’s godmother. I don’t see very much of Tina but we have a friendship that doesn’t need constant communication and contact. When we do get together, it is like we have never been apart. Last night we reminisced about things from our childhood and teenage years. Our lives have gone very different ways but we still seem to share a very strong bond.It sounds like she is organising much of wedding herself and I have tried to help out where I can. I have done all the stationery for her wedding and I will do anything else she asks me to do. I want her to have a really special day and will try my hardest to ensure this happens. I am honoured to be her matron of honour!

Friday, August 22, 2008

"Faith is to believe what we do not see; and the reward of this faith is to see what we believe" - St AugustineI do not have any religious faith and nor I do believe that there is anymore out there than what I know to exist and that I can physically see, touch or feel. I do find it difficult to understand how people can be so sure about their beliefs when such atrocities are happening all around the world. But saying that I do not understand their beliefs enough to argue my point and I would never think any less of them, or belittle their beliefs as it is important that everyone lives their lives the way they see fit.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

“I say to the moment: Stay now! You are so beautiful!” - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Unfortunately we can’t freeze time but we can savour every moment of it. Live life to the full, enjoy it, savour it and live every day like it is your last!I don’t quite live my life like this but I do try to make the most of every moment. I have had some beautiful times and I have stored those in my memory to be remembered whenever I want to. Now I have started scrapbooking at least I can capture some of these memories on paper for me to enjoys and for others to share with me.

This is a photo of Zoe when she was 12 days old and was being introduced to the rest of the family. Still to be scrapped.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

This week, yet again, I have rebelled!!! Anna requested that we scrapped the picture from day 226 using the sketch below. I didn't really like my picture for day 226 and so have used a different picture.

“I expect some new phases of life this summer, and shall try to get the honey from each moment.” -Lucy StoneSince April I have been trying to lose weight and I am 1lb short of losing a stone.This Friday I am going to a Hen Party. Since having Zoë I don’t go out much anymore and on the few occasions I have gone out, I have worn old clothes as I just haven’t been interested in buying new outfits. I was wondering what to wear to the Hen Party and had decided on an outfit until I tried it on and it didn’t fit as it was all too big.So I ordered some new clothes from Next Online. I really wanted some skinny jeans and so to be on the safe side I ordered 2 pairs, one in a size 12 and one in a size 14. My order arrived today and I tried on the size 12 jeans and guess what – they fitted perfectly. I didn’t even bother with the size 14 jeans – they can go back!I never for one moment thought that I would ever fit into size 12 jeans from Next as I have always struggled to fit into their size 14 jeans! That is one big pot of honey – I am feeling like Winnie the Pooh.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

“The more light you allow within you, the brighter the world you live in will be.” - Laura Wilson

Well this is an easy one. For all I moan and groan about how difficult Zoë can be, she is definitely the light of my life and I know my life is so much more richer for her being part of it. And I know I wouldn’t change a single thing about her!!! And then James makes my wonderful family complete.

Monday, August 18, 2008

"The art of living is more like that of wrestling than of dancing; the main thing is to stand firm and be ready for an unseen attack." - Aurelius Marcus

Certainly trying to bring up Zoë feels like a wrestling match. You never know what she is going to do next or what she is going to throw a tantrum over. Sometimes it feels like I am fighting a losing battle and I am at my wits end, wondering if things will ever get better and whether I am fit to be a mother. But then other times, she can be a real joy to be around and can be really well behaved and then I wonder why I get so stressed.I guess this is all part of motherhood and Zoë is trying to find her place in the world and seeing what she can get away with. All the teachers at nursery love her and think she is an angel! So I know she hasn’t got any behavioural problems otherwise they would have been raised as concerns by nursery.So we will continue on until we both learn to dance – together!

Sunday, August 17, 2008

"Every person in this life has something to teach me - and as soon as I accept that, I open myself to truly listening.” - Catherine Doucette; author

I love learning new things and am always on the look out for tutorials about all sorts of things such as photography, scrap booking or any crafting technique – my computer is full of things that I have downloaded. I like to be shown how to do things in person and then have notes to refer to a later date. I also like to read books and learn things for myself. The only problem I have is, I never seem to have time to do any of the tutorials, but I will one day...

Saturday, August 16, 2008

"Be a good listener. Your ears will never get you in trouble.” - Frank Tyger

I like to think I am a good listener as I like to be able help with people’s problems. If it only takes a few minutes or hours of my time, it is a small price to pay if I have made someone feel better by being able to share their problems.I know if I have any problems then I like to be able to talk about it. A problem shared, is a problem halved.

Friday, August 15, 2008

Nothing feeds the center of being so much as creative work - Anne Morrow LindberghWell I am pretty fed up today. Yesterday, although I had a fantastic day with the a couple of the 365 girls, I lost my bracelet that was a present from Zoë for my first Mother’s Day. I never took this bracelet off and I am really upset that I have lost it. I have phoned the shopping centre and the police but it hasn’t been handed in.

So I started the day pretty miserable and then Zoë has just played up all day and I am about ready to scream. I don’t know why she is misbehaving so much. Whatever I ask of her, all I get is a “NO!!!” from her and I have had enough for one day.I am going to drink my cup of tea and then I am going to do some crafting to cheer myself up. I still have all the Order of Services to do for my friend’s wedding so I will try and come up with some designs for this and the place name cards. Crafting always makes me feel better.

This is my layout for week 32. I have based it loosely on a Little Book of Sketches sketch number 296. My stitching is the circles near round the photo.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

“Some days there won't be a song in your heart. Sing anyway” - Emory Austin

I have spent the afternoon with Lynne and Kay from the 365 group and have had a wonderful time. There wasn’t much time for singing as we were chatting just far too much. Dee kept Zoë entertained and Peter, Lynne’s husband, just sat and listened to us yarning away the afternoon. What a very good husband he is.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

This is my card for the Penny Black challenge this week. The challenge was to use the set sketch (see below). The image I actually coloured a couple of weeks ago for the No Pink challenge using my Prisma pencils but I never used it. My friend is having an operation tomorrow so I have used the challenge to make a get well soon card for her.The sketch was:

The world is grand, awfully big and astonishingly beautiful, frequently thrilling.-Dorothy KilgallenThis is so true and I notice it so much more since I have got into photography. You tend to look at things in such a different way. You look at the lighting levels and think about how it would look if you only looked at it from a certain angle. Mind you I think all these things, but they never seem to transpose into the actual photo that I take.

"When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left and could say, I used everything you gave me" - Erna BombackI think this is a really lovely quote and that it is pretty well sums up the way I like to live my life. I think life is short and that you must make the most of it. Don’t get to the end of your life with regrets because you didn’t do the things that you really wanted to do but just did not have the courage or knowledge to achieve them.This doesn’t mean that you should be selfish and do things that don’t take into consideration those around you, but at the same time, you cannot live your life for others. Family life has to be about compromise.I hope that when my time comes, I have lived a long and happy life and that I have achieved everything that I wanted and that I am as happy on that day as I am today or Zoe is with her Night Garden umbrella.

Sunday, August 10, 2008

When it comes to scrapbooking I am not sure that I do things simply. I tend to have a very rough idea in my head, get all my stash out, making a real mess and then struggle to make it all come together. I like to try and use sketches to make the layout design simpler but then I seem to struggle with this too as I can’t seem to match papers up and then get a bit heavy handed with the embellishments. I would never describe my layouts as sophisticated. But I will persevere as practice makes perfect!

Saturday, August 9, 2008

I have got a bit behind on this challenge so thought that I better catch up with it. I have really struggled with what to do for O but in the end I did Overexcited. The photo is from last week at my nephew's 4th birthday party. This is the first real party that Zoe has been to and she was so excited about it. She loved seeing all the other children and playing all the party games.

For P I have done Potty Training, which we started 3 weeks ago and is going really well.

Now I am up to date again - until Friday when the next prompt comes out.

"Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment, full effort is full victory" - Ghandi Mahatma

Satisfaction today for me was going into town and fitting into a size 12 t-shirt from Animal. Just had to buy it!!!! It has taken a lot of effort to get here but I feel very victorious. It wasn’t long ago when a size 14 from the Animal shop was tight on me. And this morning I weighed myself and I was 9 stone 11 lb. I don’t think I have ever been this light.

Friday, August 8, 2008

"Appreciation...acknowledges the presence of good wherever you shine the light of your thankful thoughts” - Alan Cohen; author

I think it is always important to show your appreciation of something that someone has done for you. I always think that if someone knows how much you appreciate their help, then you won’t feel bad about asking for their help in the future and they will be happy to help you again. My mother-in-law has helped us lots over the years with looking after the dog etc and I would always buy her flowers or a little gift to show that we are very grateful to her for helping us out. I am teaching Zoe to say her please and thank yous and it is becoming second nature to her already.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

"Everybody can be great...because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. you only need a heart full of grace. a soul generated by love.” - Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-68), American civil rights leaderNot overly sure that I understand this prompt, but I am taking it to mean that no matter who or what you are, you can help anyone.I do try to help people whenever they need it. I would like to think that people would help me if I needed it, so why wouldn’t I do the same for everyone else?

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

"The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”- Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948), Indian political and spiritual leader I always give to charity as long as I believe in the charity. I always give to Comic Relief and Children in Need. I can’t say that I have ever done lots of fund raising but will always sponsor anyone who puts themselves out to raise money. I think it takes a special kind of person who carries out a new challenge in the aid of others less fortunate – especially if it is a really hard challenge such as running the marathon or something. My friend’s husband to be has just cycled from John o’Groats to Lands End for a local cancer hospice. James and I both sponsored him very generously as it took alot of training and 2 weeks of his own time to complete.

This photo is not related to the prompt. It has seeded itself from the seeds from the bird table. Now that is what I call recycling!!!

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

I have been naughty and rebelled this week. Anna wanted us to scrap the photo from Day 214, but I didn't want to scrap a picture of the Slimmers World magazine, so I have used my photos of Zoe from the weekend with the bubbles.

She also asked us to use a non traditional scrapbooking product ie: fabric, cardboard, bubble wrap, vinatge finds.

I have used some bubble wrap which I cut into a 3 inch square and then painted with metallic acrylic paint and used as a stamp. I have made a patchwork design on the card using pink and blue paint to match Zoe's dress. I then made the letters using my Craft Robo and the Cooper Black font and putting circles around them. I cut them twice, once in pink and once in blue to get alternate colours. I have then used a white journalling pen to highlight the letters. And then just added some flowers.

“If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain. If I can ease one life the aching, or cool one pain, or help one fainting robin Unto his nest again, I shall not live in vain.” - Emily Dickinson (1830-1886), poet

These two little monkeys have kept us entertained all day today. The weather has been rubbish but we have had a lovely day out at Weymouth Sea Life Centre. They don’t see each other very often but when they do, they get on so well. Zoë is in total awe of Connor and watches everything that he does so she can copy him.I hope they grow up together with Connor always looking out for his little cousin. I hate to think of either of them ever having to experience any pain or suffering in their lives, but if they do, then I will always be there for them to help them through anything.

Monday, August 4, 2008

I try to be positive at all times but sometimes I can start to feel a bit sorry for myself and can be negative about things. I hate the way this makes me feel and so give myself a stern talking to and make myself be more cheerful. I think it takes up valuable energy being miserable and negative all the time – just think what you could be doing with that energy!!!We have a lot of things to be thankful for and I like to enjoy life as you only have one crack at it so why not make the most of it.If you believe in yourself, you can do anything you want to.

Sunday, August 3, 2008

"Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams” - Ashley Smith (b. 1978), author, speaker

Since I have got into photography I certainly appreciate my surroundings a whole lot more! I notice nature more and see how beautiful the flowers are, how the industrious the insects are and everything has a purpose. All this makes me want to take a photo of it all and capture the beauty for others to see.On a recent trip to Upton House, I wandered through a walled garden and found these lovely flowers. The sun was shining and it made these flowers seem even more beautiful – if that is possible.A sunny day lifts your mood and can make anything seem possible.

My Stampin' Up Blog

About Me

My name is Claire. I live in Dorset with my husband and young daughter. I work fulltime and am NOW an Independent Stampin' Up Demonstrator.
I love to craft and cook (although not together as I find my papers get a bit sticky!)